Soybean protein has generally been used more and more as protein material for ice creams, yoghurts, cheeses and dressings. It has aso been utilized for other foodstuffs, for example, pastes, daily dishes, cakes, breads, noodles and various kinds of dairy products, and soybean protein has become an extremely useful
food material.
However, in the case of using soybean protein as food material, it has to provide favorable feeling upon eating and high processability.
As processes for producing soybean protein there have been various methods such as acid coagulation method, calcium coagulation method, enzyme method, heating method, alcohol coagulation method, etc. and food materials have been produced from bean proteins by respective methods.
However, those food materials obtained by the conventional method involve various problems such as acid taste, salty taste, bitter taste, gritty feeling due to intense coagulation, and poor processability. In addition, there is also a problem for the production process that the steps are complicated such as requirement for acid precipitation, neutralization and washing for isolated soybean protein or pre-heating treatment of soymilk in view of the protease of plant origin.